the other shore

8/6/2019 The Other Shore

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The Other Shore

from the teachings of Zen Master Hogen

Selected and edited by Kate Carne

Illustrations by Kassandra Pardee


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Hogen Daido Yamahata 1986


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with special thanks

to Sylvia and Cesar

for their help

and to Shigeru Sano

for his biographical notes on Hogen-San


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Open Way Zen Australia

http://www.openway.org.au

E-mail:[email protected]
http://www.openway.org.au/http://www.openway.org.au/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.openway.org.au/


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Contents

Introduction ............................................................................ 9

This single encounter ........................................................ 11

Acceptance ........................................................................ 31

Intention and effort .......................................................... 47

Ego and transcendence ..................................................... 61

There is no separation ...................................................... 79

Zazen ................................................................................. 91

The Master ...................................................................... 129

About Hogen Daido Yamahata ............................................ 136


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9

IntroductionThe idea for this book arose out of a desire to collect

together various items which Zen Master Hogen Daido

Yamahata has written over the past years, together with

some of his oral teachings. In particular I wanted to

extract brief fragments, so that people who had never

met Hogen-san, and those who knew nothing about Zen,

might have a general introduction to him and his

practice. Of course, I also hope that this collection will

find a place with those who are already Hogen-San's

followers.

Although it is possible to read every page of this book in

one sitting, I would like to suggest an alternative

approach. Consider these fragments rather like poetry,

to be read and digested slowly, no more than a few at a

time. Or find the quotation which strikes you the most

deeply, and go back to it more than once. Hogen-san's

statements can be deceptively simple: one must always

bear in mind that his comments come not from any

intellectual conclusion: instead they are an attempt to

relate his direct experience of the truth.


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This single encounter


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12

I think that just being here and doing nothing is the

most important, the wisest, the greatest work in this

world for a human being.


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13

It seems to be of little importance whether we live longer

or healthier lives, since this is a transient abode. The

only question we are given is how we experience this

limitless, real life.


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14

The realization of life is nothing more than the

realization of death. Doing something with all your heart

and forgetting yourself in it is the ultimate truth.


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15

The truth of life is not a goal to be attained in some

particular time or place in the future, but the reality of

the step you take at this very moment.


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16

Zazen, running, conversation, reading, considering (and

taking responsibility for) the problems of the world,

having dinner or taking a bath... whatever you are doing

now - that is the daily reality for you: do not try to

escape it.

Each thing we are doing or facing now is our true reality,

our true encounter. This is exactly the point. Whateveryou are doing now, do it. Just do it. Don't avoid it. If you

escape from this, you are always escaping towards some

future, from the cradle to the grave.


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17

I maintain that your present imperfect state is much

much better and more full of grace than the perfect state

you intend to achieve in the future. Our lives, as we are

practising now, are better than anything we will gain in

the future. Therefore, you should switch the centre of

your being and your whole attention from your dreams

of the future, and instead have your awareness on Here

Now.


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18

This morning, I happened to look at a leaf of a tree. In

that leaf I discovered the detailed reality of our

existence. I had never before truly seen the miraculous

nature of our life. I looked at the leaf in deep silence,

with eyes full of tears. Thus I sat, in the depth of a

special serenity and peace.


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19

The life of true emptiness takes the form of whatever is

here now.


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20

We often say, "See you again soon", or, "I practise zazen

twice a day". But is it the same zazen? Can we repeat

anything a second time? Will you be the same "You"

tomorrow or next year? Unconsciously we believe that

our lives are full of repetitions, but in fact nothing is ever

the same: it is impossible to repeat anything. Each time,

out of necessity, our practice is utterly new and

different.


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21

When you have lunch, you should just have lunch.

Otherwise you are not living in this world.


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22

"How am I doing it?" Examine this only.


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23

We cannot and do not need to cut ourselves off from

material possessions and physical pleasure. When we

are naturally facing just this one encounter, that is quite

enough. We don't need to cut out anything: it happens

by itself.


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24

What is our real problem?

In fact, it has nothing to do with whether or not the

earth and everyone on it are destroyed. Instead, we must

ask: am I truly meeting and receiving this miraculous

encounter? This is our only problem.


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25

You can confirm what I have told you in your daily life.

You are living and seeing the daily experiment of Here

and Now always, naturally. If you are not blind, you will

not need any further proof. See it for yourself. That is

quite enough. There is no other way.


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26

The fixed state is one where there is no new death, no

new birth, in other words, just "habit". As long as one is

alive, one should be continually dying and being born in

every encounter, so that the enlightened life flows

forever. Every sitting is the realization of a new world

which one is seeing for the very first time.


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27

They say that once you are contented with what you are,

you will have no growth, no progress. This, I think, is a

superficial understanding. Real growth, true progress,

begins when you get at the truth of what you are; when

you can say, "it is absolutely all right," even though it

may be very poor and miserable.

So, please observe your unsatisfactory situation moreand more, and take better care of it as it is. Then you

may see the door open to the next world.


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28

It was on the fifth night of the intensive training session

in December, when I was 25 years old, that I sat in a

graveyard behind the temple, uttering "Muh, Muh,

Muh," in a very loud voice. As I was engaged in the

whole-hearted utterance of "Muh", I discovered that

heaven and earth became "Muh" altogether. When I

uttered "Muh" I discovered that the whole universe

became "Muh". When I uttered "Uhh", the whole

universe became "Uhh". All things became settled in that

experience. As you are, so is the universe. The whole

universe responds to your act. When you go to the

bathroom, you have the universe of the bathroom. You

have no other universe than this. There is no origin and

no occasion for the creation of a new universe other than

this place and this occasion. Between heaven and earth

there is only this event. We stand at the origin of the

creation of the universe. There is nothing less and

nothing more than this.


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29

Our daily life is, thus, nothing but miracles.


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Acceptance


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32

I wonder why we are always avoiding and running away

from the real purpose of life. I think is because of our

anticipatory nature, a dream of something else,

something better, than what one already is. This dream

arises from our attachment to the ego. So we continue to

roam about, motivated by our unconscious fixed idea

that we dislike ourselves as we are.


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33

Rain or shine, good or bad, hopeful or hopeless,

satisfying or unsatisfying; we must give up such poor

judgements of ourselves. Please, just sit and sit and sit.

Do not have any satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Just do it

without any consideration for the effect.


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34

We are born anew only when we accept this actual world

which is so miserable, imperfect, and rotten as the most

perfect, irreplaceable, and infinite one.


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35

I find infinite meaning in hunger and thirst, the

shedding of blood and tears, sorrow and joy, birth and

death, disease and old age. A world without any

problems or suffering or contradictions is as dead as a

world made of vinyl and plastics which neither change

their forms nor decompose in the ground.


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36

As the inevitable product of our ego, we now have wars,

tragedies, precision instruments, political strategies,

pollutions, multi-national corporations, and so on. This

is the human world as it is.

In such a world we shed our blood and tears, often

against our will. In such a world our life is unfolding

itself perfectly. Thus we practice the Great Way.


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37

I am sure that falling down into the karmic way is also

meaningful for our lives. In order to wake up to our

ultimate reality, we need first to lose our awareness of it.

In order to find our true home, we must first travel the

world. If we had continued to live in paradise forever, we

would never have recognized the miracle of our life.


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38

If you lament over your misfortunes, it is because you

are looking at things from one point of view only.

Misfortune and misery can actually bring about a

different kind of happiness. Every experience should be

welcomed because it is a chance for growth and self-

realization, no matter how hard it may be. After you

have endured many hardships, after you have made

many mistakes, then you may say that you have actually

lived.


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39

You attempt to be better. In fact, there is no such thing

as "better".


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40

By doing yoga and zazen, we can begin to appreciate the

real state of our body and mind, both of which are stiff

and unpeaceful. We should not hate them. Please, let

them be as they are. Taste their special, bitter taste


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41

Your zazen may be painful. However, when you accept

your suffering one hundred per cent, the suffering

disappears. It is no longer suffering. The problem is in

refusing to accept your reality, that is, the pain.


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42

When we are awakened to the fact that this actual world

is the perfect Life itself, we will discover a different way

of wrestling with the pain and the difficulties. We will

have a definite solution as to where to settle our minds

and where to root ourselves in the world. Right at this

point, I believe, there exists the foundation for a social

revolution in which all human beings attain the Way.


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43

As long as you do not refuse to accept a thing, or do not

impose your own thinking out of convenience or because

of some arbitrary judgement, the task you will have to do

will be given to you before you ask for it. As long as you

are ready to come and go as the occasion arises, you will

no longer have a choice between what is planned and

what is not planned. You should remain free from the

practice of choosing, so as to keep yourself entirely open

to accept whatever comes your way.


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44

When we love someone, we are blind to his faults. When

we hate someone, everything he does seems to be wrong.

We see people according to our mental pictures, not as

they really are.

Our acceptance or rejection of people and situations is

unnecessary. It is something extra, like putting legs on a

snake. Instead, accept things as they come and let themgo as they go. In emptying our minds, we meet people as

if we were meeting them for the first time in our lives.

Here lies wisdom and true meeting.


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45

Just live, accepting this given moment of true light. Here

God is born, the Way is attained, love is received,

eternity is opened. It is natural. When at last we have

nothing, then everything is given. What lives now, that is

Life.


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Intention and effort


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Why are we living in this world? What is the purpose of

our lives? What are we seeking throughout the whole of

our existence?

We are seeking real happiness. This is the fact. All of us

are. And have we really achieved it? From morning till

night, from the cradle to the grave, we are making plans

and all sorts of efforts. For example, earning money,giving education to our children, trying to keep our

bodies healthy... by every conceivable means, we are

doing all that we can to achieve our final happiness. So,

have you achieved it? Not yet? When?

In fact, we are not achieving it. All of the effort we make

throughout the whole of our lives is in vain. Isn't it? If

you could get it by your effort or will or planning, you

should already have found your final happiness. But you

haven't yet. Why?


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49

From our earliest youth we have, unconsciously, always

been forced to do things with intense effort in order to

attain some specific purpose or position. Our parents

and school teachers, all of them, encouraged us to

become cleverer, stronger, bigger, and always more

'moral'. And again at our workplace everybody is

competing to be better than the rest. In such manner we

are swept forward into our graves. It is a completely

senseless and stupid way to live.


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50

Even when we do nothing, we are doing something. This

is inevitable for all of us as long as we live. But the

critical point is that we should try nothing. That is to

say, we should do everything we need to do in our daily

lives, intentionlessly. Having such an experience, I am

aware that I am still living in the final peace, as I am

here with you. After this realization we come to a very

simple conclusion: we do not need to create any reason

for living.


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51

It is one's intention, one's mind, that obstructs the

limitless light and freedom, though originally there is

nothing but light and freedom.


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52

You ask me how to get rid of expectations and

intentions. In response to your question, I can sincerely

say that there is no method, and that it is not a question

of how to abandon them. It is your sitting itself that

should be completely one with "It". Your daily actions

must become one with It. You cannot depend on anyone

to lead you. From here on, you must just sit until you fall

from the cliff of the self. I cannot say any more than that,

and you cannot know any more than that.

Each time I sit in zazen I am answering you. Can you feel

that a thousand miles is one wind?


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53

In my temple we have our own daily schedule of Zen and

yoga, but no rules (and no money). It can be dissolved at

any time: our life is always being changed by the ideas

and experiences of our new members, because we have

no fixed intentions or organized politics.


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54

Without practice and effort, we cannot reach a peaceful

state. We should realize that a peaceful state to be

reached at the end is totally different from the state of

laziness which may exist before setting out on a long

journey of practice.


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55

You have a burden in your mind as to whether you are

making progress, or whether you are merely going round

and round in circles. This is because you have

expectations of going somewhere, getting somewhere,

becoming something better. But what is progress

anyway?

I do not mean to say that it is all right for you to stay asyou are now. You must take each step anew, burning out

your old life completely.


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56

As long as we practise sitting in order to gain something

special or to satisfy our own intentions or purposes,

zazen is never deepened, nor is it possible to enter a

state of samadhi.


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58

When we do and finish the one thing that we are

confronting now, without intention, we will surely find

the next step naturally.


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59

Ask for nothing, hope for nothing, be caught by nothing.


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Ego and transcendence


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62

Whether it is the "Infinite Light Supreme" or the "No

Ego, No-Mind Nature" or the "Eco-cosmic Symphony in

Harmony with the Wholistic Love of God"; whatever you

may call it, it can become the domain of the ego. Once it

becomes as such, it proves to have been nothing more

than the structure of the ego from the very beginning.

Whatever name it has, whatever faith, creed, or system

of philosophy it may be, it is still within the realm of the

ego. So long as one remains in this realm, one can never

arrive at true emptiness.


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63

Whatever I may do - such as Zen, yoga, or living my

daily life - I do whole-heartedly, by throwing myself

away and letting life take its natural course completely.

But if my manner becomes habitual or self-righteous,

then anything I do will be wrong. It will be good for

nothing.

This advice is helpful to remind us always to make afresh start, no matter how many years we have been

practising. This is one of the fundamental admonitions

we should keep in mind each day, whether we are at the

top of the mountain or the bottom of the sea.


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64

We human beings accept and lead our lives, completely

unaware that we are the realization of some hundred

million years, and that our lives are beyond the realm of

possibility for water-dwelling creatures.

Out of the water and onto the land, we are now living

lives that at one time seemed utterly impossible. How,

then, can anyone conclude that we are incapable ofactualizing somewhere which, from our present

standpoint, also appears impossible? If we assume that a

spiritual being will never emerge or enjoy living in some

higher dimension beyond this materialistic earthly

plane, such an assumption comes from the limitation of

ourselves as earth-bound creatures. It is as if we denythe possibility of birds that fly, simply because we are

fishes.


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65

We act out of conviction, and therefore create strong,

unfathomable sin. It is in this sense that our very

conviction is the womb of our sin. Religions are not at all

the exception to this case: rather, they are the greatest

example.

Whether it is our faith or our philosophy, because of our

firm convictions, we human beings create karma or sin. We must deeply observe this fact. After all, one's own

conviction has trapped oneself more and more firmly

into the darkness. Wars are the caused because of this

and, ultimately, the destruction of the world.


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66

Looking at the problems of the world, it is natural to feel

great pain and sorrow, and to wonder what should be

done to help. However, any action that does not come

from your own original stillness will only increase those

problems ad infinitum.

If you really wish to help others, you must be free from

your emotional attachments to them. Such attachment ismerely the product of your ego. Thus the best way to

help others is to sit in emptiness; in no-mind

meditation; in your own original peace. When you are in

the depth of no-mind, you can see things as they are,

without emotional distortions. Then you can truly be of

service.


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67

Our ideas may not always be the best; there may be

sometimes better or more important ideas than our own.

Therefore, we should be flexible, open to new

encounters and new realizations. We should be able to

give up our own ideas at any time. But when we keep

strong attachments in our mind because of our earnest

intention, it is extremely difficult for us to give them up.

This is our common problem, isn't it? You have your

ideas and another person has his ideas; therefore, we

really need to see both sides clearly, like an empty

mirror.

Even if we continue our discussion with another person

for one thousand years, we may not reach any finalagreement. But we should not try to get rid of our

differences because they are the very things which teach

us and enrich our lives.


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68

We think that we are alive by doing whatever we like to

do, with infinite freedom and unlimited creativity

inherent in each of us. But actually we are confined and

limited by a particular life-style, which arises because of

our tastes and ideas, our habits and our self-centred

tendencies. We bite at only a certain aspect of life, and

cling to it like an insect.


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69

As long as we hold onto our childish ego and are

insistent on satisfying ourselves, the world will stay in as

much of an uproar (on the human level) as ever. It only

becomes worse and worse under human efforts. As

things are invented through our worldly intentions and

desires, everything remains in the endless circle of

accumulating karma. This way of existence does not

belong to Buddha nature, but to the infant one.


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70

We are always thinking, "I am seeking the real Truth,"

but in fact aren't we merely asking for our own

intellectual satisfaction?


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71

How do we judge things? How do we distinguish

between right and wrong? Our childhood experiences

are always at work subconsciously, determining our

vision of the world. In the very beginning we are as pure

white paper: with age the paper becomes stained with

this colour or that. Superficially we may accept new

colours later on, but underneath we remain the colour of

our childhood.

Thus, we must recognise deeply that there is nothing

more doubtful than our own judgement. Our normal

values, our ideas of good and evil - there is nothing more

unreliable than these.

When we have thoroughly examined every aspect of our

motivations and our values, then we may return to that

original pure white paper. Such purity, such emptiness,

is our innermost self, which existed before the birth of

our parents. When all the stains and colourings have

thus been stripped away, we are born anew, every

moment.


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72

We do not need to acquire or attain anything, because

originally through our existence itself we are already

whole. In the same way, the stars are enough in

themselves; the stones on the beach are already perfect.

In order to understand this, try to remember who you

were before you were born. Did you have property then,

thoughts, ideas, plans, or philosophies? Of course not;you did not need such nonsense.


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74

When we are conscious of having grasped something

and have a clear idea about it, we become the most rigid

and the roughest at heart. We become trapped in the

world of self-consciousness and self-satisfaction.

The call of God arises in the depth of our despair; when

we are desperately ashamed of our existence, and feel

miserable to have lost all that is firm within us...whenwe are at a total loss about what to do. At this moment

the "self" can be ripped away.


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75

To fail is to be born again.


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76

To be free from ourselves is the true meaning of our

practice. But if we try to do so through our own will, the

effect will not be to free ourselves at all; rather, we

become enslaved.

Therefore, you must consider this question: what is the

deepest prayer which penetrates the whole of your life?

Of course you do not need to be conscious of it, but inthe undercurrent of your life, what prayer is always

there? What is your life ultimately about? What is the

real essence of your life? Please, look into yourself.


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77

When worldly phenomena and passions lose the power

to shake one fundamentally, one's determination and

conviction can quietly dissolve. Then with no ego, no-

mind, there awakens the great nature of Buddha; one's

innermost essence, which is shared with all living

beings.


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There is no separation


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80

As long as we adhere to the common outlook on

existence, which is borne out of a sense of separation,

the competition and cruel wars will continue. If we

believe that we are separate, and if we are determined to

survive, we will have no choice but to fight against one

another.

Therefore, it is essential that we come to the radicalunderstanding that we are all one and the same body,

one and the same existence. This is the main reason for

doing zazen and yoga meditation.


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81

Every living creature is unique and meaningful, an

indispensable link in the universal circle. When I

observe closely a dry leaf, a blade of grass, an

earthworm, I am struck by the deep wonder of the

sacred universe. These small things may seem to be

useless, but in truth nothing is useless. We are all

descendents of the beginning of the universe.


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82

Life can exist only in the indivisible flow between inner

and outer, between self and other.

The whole universe can exist only in you, only in me,

only in this encounter.


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83

I am always being supported by you, by air, by water, by

the sunlight, by people who live all over the world, by

clothes, by soil, by the earth, stars, time, and space. In

the end, the whole cosmos is allowing me to exist. You

are also being supported by everything else in the

universe. Therefore, we cannot consider ourselves to be

separate; we cannot exist independently of any other

thing.


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84

Not even a single living creature can exist without the

sacrifice of other creatures. In consequence, nobody can

live in a happy-go-lucky fashion, and living itself

becomes very fragile and doubtful.


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85

The violence you speak of is not anywhere else but in our

minds, in which we separate ourselves from others and

from the world. When we discover the truth that we are

the one same existence with everything in the cosmos,

we no longer create problems in our minds about

violence. This insight is the solution of the problem of

violence at its deepest root.


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86

Compassion does not arise from our human emotional

level. From that level we have human love, anger, and

hatred, which in turn cause conflicts and wars; all

because we believe that we are separate individuals.

Only when we are free of the human emotional level,

and in the depth of emptiness, can our true

compassionate nature, which is the deepest layer of our

existence, begin to awaken. Otherwise we are, in fact,

always full of desire. And we cannot have both

compassion and desire, can we? It is impossible.


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87

When we are engaged by our superficial consciousness,

and busy with our ordinary life, we act as individuals

and perceive everyone as being separate.

But sometimes, on special occasions, our ordinary

consciousness lets go of us for a moment. Then we

become aware of our deeper self, which is normally

unconscious. Here, in the depth of our being, there is notime, no space, no separation: then we are one with

everything.

This is the deepest essence of our being, and the source

of all compassion. We call it Buddha nature.


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Each of us is the whole cosmos.

If you really see the limitation of individual existence,

then you can also truly understand the limitless life

contained in your existence.

If you are really yourself, you are you and the whole

cosmos. The whole limitless cosmos is within you.


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89

Listen to the birds singing outside. But they are not

outside. There is no border between them and us: no

separation. Everything, all living creatures, and the

whole cosmos are the same body. We are not

individuals.

Look at my hands. They appear to be separate, but in

reality they are not. Both are part of the same body.

When I sit, I am the tip of the iceberg. All of my

ancestors are actualizing here within me. Everything is

actualizing here. So, when you experience a deep

transformation, the whole cosmos is also changed:

because truly there is no separation.


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Zazen


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Zazen is an unknown, original vast field which no-one

has ever explored. This is new, virgin soil. We know

nothing about zazen. I am not your teacher, but as one

of your friends I will try to tell you of my way of daily

practice.


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You may have many ideas in your mind. First of all, it is

necessary to be free of them. Zazen is not a way to gain

great knowledge: rather, it is a way to become humble.


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94

Zen is something to be practised in our daily life as air is

breathed by anyone at any time. Zen is nothing but the

total living of this encounter at each moment by

throwing away our preconceived ideas and our plans. In

other words, the ego disappears and one is enlivened

here, doing totally only one thing at this very moment,

with no relation to the self-consciousness of the mind.

This can be done and is done by anyone who is willing to

do it unconditionally. This is the deepest root and

foundation of human life: it has nothing to do with

following a religious sect.


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Zazen is not a way to get a peaceful state of mind, and

we should not indulge in it as such.


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Zazen is just the open way to be here now, simply,

without making any effort.


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97

Zazen is a primal, fundamental practice, based on the

trinity of body, breathing, and mind. The true zazen

won't open to us until our sitting posture and breathing

are properly adjusted, and the mind is let go of.


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98

You speak of a breathing method and say, "It might be

useful," but what is useful? The concept of usefulness

can only exist in a world of techniques, and Zen is not a

technique. It is the practice of the Buddha, the

realization of the Way. When you are aiming for a goal,

you consider the question of usefulness. In zazen,

however, we do not need to progress efficiently towards

any goal. Therefore, there is no method in Zen. Only

sitting exists and it is everything.


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99

How can we attain the Buddha's Way? Do you have

some special method to attain it? Is that why we do

zazen, yoga, chanting, running? No, these are not ways

to attain it. They are, each of them, Buddha's life itself.

They are the ultimate attainment in themselves, not

ways or means to reach some other goal.


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"Concentration" implies that the mind is focused, like a

lens. We do not seek that quality in meditation: instead,

it is better to be as an empty mirror. When you try to

concentrate, you need to make a special effort, but when

you are like a mirror you do not need any effort.


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What is it to be alert? True alertness is the state of

selflessness in which one is instantly and directly able to

respond. This is the way things are reflected in a mirror,

just exactly as they are. If one has something in one's

mind, the outside world will not be reflected perfectly,

nor will it be possible to respond at once. The practice of

zazen is a way of realizing this truth: that the real

acceptance of and response to the world has nothing to

do with one's own judgement.


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Even if we sit quietly, we can by no means be thoroughly

free from all ideas and thoughts. A stream of thoughts

flows through our mind, one following the other, and we

repeat the ups and downs, unable to extricate ourselves

from the tyrannical hold of joy, sorrow, and desires.

However long we may sit in such a state of mind, it is

nothing but a waste of life.


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When you sit, do not think at all about becoming

enlightened, becoming No-Mind, becoming Buddha, or

about what one should do in order to become a certain

way. This is all unnecessary. One does not seek

anything. Leave alone all rambling thoughts and noise.

One neither notices them nor allows them to become a

nuisance. One lets them flow away and vanish, just as

clouds are blown away in the open sky. If you do not

mind about them, they are not a problem. One deals

with none of them.


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Just devote yourself to sitting. No matter what ideas or

thoughts may come and go in your mind, give no heed

and resign yourself to sitting. In due course your sitting

will get spontaneously adapted to sitting itself. Once

your sitting is settled in Za (sitting), your-mind becomes

free from all ideas and thoughts and you are wholly

absorbed in sitting.


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As long as we think or say "No-Mind", we are not in the

true state of no-mind. If we are one with it, there is no

distinction between mind and no-mind. What remains is

pure action.


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To expect or wish for some change can be a big

hindrance in your practice. To practice zazen is to

abandon the self who is pleased or disappointed at the

progress or change through zazen. It is a total new birth

in each sitting.


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108

There is a break between God and man when man, by

his own intention, acts in a self-centred way. If a sitting,

or whatever it may be, is done out of your own ego, it

can never be called zazen. To sit, only to sit, without

paying any attention to oneself, is the real sitting.


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When you do zazen, just do zazen. That's all. When you

read a book, just read the book. That's all. This is the

only way to end your deluding passions. Can you live any

other way?


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Even if you have practised zazen for some ten years, you

may still fall into the trap of your ego and be crushed at

the last moment. Actually, you have been practising

zazen up until that moment only as an appendage (Zen

plastic surgery, Zen make-up, decorative Zen). You have

been doing nothing but playing snugly and comfortably

for the past ten years. If you do not investigate the living

Zen of life's actual struggle day and night, and if this

living Zen doesn't always die and come into being anew,

then it is a false belief. All you have practised is of no

use.


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There are many professional priests who specialize in

being deeply asleep; who are stuck in traditional ways of

practice. Among those practising zazen, there are quite a

number of people who sit merely out of habit; who are,

in other words, asleep. Once we become aware of this

fact, we are inclined to rebel against the tradition and its

discipline. However, in the resulting "free" practice of

zazen, we tend to stray from the path - we end up living

in self-drunkenness and dying in dreams.

Instead, try to find a way to go more deeply into the

heart of the formal discipline of zazen, thus becoming

more and more aware of yourself. This is what is called

practice. Practice is not for falling asleep or cultivatingsome habitual routine: practice is for entering the

Infinite Way, for harmonizing ourselves with the flow of

life. It is a way of letting go of our discriminative

judgement, a way of forgetting ourselves. On this path

there is neither complaining nor reasoning.

The formal disciplines (of sitting, posture, daily practice)

are not ultimately disciplines at all. They are the fruits of

human wisdom; the abyss, the infinite, the void.


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It is impossible for any one person to understand or

tackle all of the important problems in the world. You

must decide what is the most important, the most

urgent, for you. For me, zazen is the most fundamental

task in response to the heavy problems in our modern

world.


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We do not need a particular time in order to have space

in our hearts for calling back the real human wisdom. It

is enough if we sit in calmness for a short time each day.

Being busy is different from having no room in our

hearts. Therefore, if you do sit, you will find that you can

sit. However busy one may be, one eats and sleeps - you

can sit during those times.


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You can perform zazen correctly only through an honest

daily life. If you nurture zazen in a special way separate

from daily life, its base will be disorderly and unsound.

It's a lie if zazen is not exactly life.


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No matter how hard we try to improve our sitting, we

fail if, in our everyday life, which is the mother's body,

we are pointless and loose.


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Try to combine your breathing with the rhythm of the

universe. It will cause you to awaken to the truth that

there is nothing but the breath of the cosmos within you,

coming from an immaculate origin.


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A true Zen practitioner is a person who sees reality, who

is deeply related to the world - to people, animals,

plants, rocks, the sea - and through this connection is

reborn with each encounter.


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In real sitting, Life is flowing calmly and deeply and all

in one direction. This the moment when man has the

most beautiful face.


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We do not try to gain enlightenment. We just leave our

body and mind in the void, and sit and sit

wholeheartedly and are Buddha ourselves right here

now. We need nothing other than this.


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When we sit firmly and unconditionally for a while, we

realize our original simplicity. At this moment we can

see clearly that we need very little in our ordinary life.

Seeing this, we become purified.


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Please, be free from your zazen!

When you are really free from your zazen, you can do

sitting and daily moving zazen accordingly.


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Carried by the current of deep life, we are naturally led

to sit. Here is the opening of a new encounter in sitting.

This sitting is no longer your own.


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The form of your zazen should be like a mountain.


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Zazen begins only at the point where you cast off

everything.


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Through my brief experience, I am aware that this way

of sitting is the essence of human wisdom.


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If you continue your zazen practice for one thousand

years, you will lose your special idea or specific direction

and, after all, you will get nothing.


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The Master


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There is nothing more obstinate, narrower, and smaller

than seeking the Way in one's own way. There is nothing

more miserable than that. Has my "self" been

completely battered down from the depth of my

existence? Or do I remain the monarch of all I survey,

living in the safety zone where I preserve what I have

sensed through my consciousness? This reflection on

myself, this most important examination, comes not

from myself, but from Buddha. Everything depends on

this turning point.


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Why are we here together, myself with my brothers and

sisters? We are praying for the ultimate divine Light and

responding to the quiet voice calling from the abyss:

thus are we here.

It is not I who gives the light. I am nothing more than a

midwife or a guide. Now I will guide, together with you,

along the road to the spring at the top of the mountain.

It is you who must walk the path. There are no maps,

and you cannot progress unless you are willing to walk

by yourself: unless you take that one step further by

yourself, you cannot get there.

This kind of journey does not take us to a different place:this is the inner journey for us to get home.


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You let go of your ego and look at yourself. There you

will find grace, an open road, and somebody who is

looking for the same answer.


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Because all that I say has already become nothing but

impure principles or doctrines, I fall into a deadlock and

cannot help but give up everything and just sit

motionless in zazen.


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About Hogen Daido YamahataHogen Yamahata (generally known as Hogen-san) is a

Zen Master in the tradition of the Soto sect of Zen

Buddhism in Japan. He began practising zazen (sitting

meditation) while still in high school. He had, even as a

teenager, a very deep question about the nature of life

and death; and therefore sought out religious figures in

an effort to find an answer.

Hogen-san's quest took him all over Japan. He went on

foot from monastery to monastery, carrying a begging

bowl, searching for his answer. Eventually he

encountered a Zen monk who impressed him most

deeply. As Hogen later explained, it seemed that the

monk had a soft light around him. Hogen stepped

forward and asked his question. In reply, the monk took

Hogen by the shoulders, shook him fiercely, and

shouted, "This is it!!". Hogen had found the man who

was to become his Master.

Even then, Hogen-san's Zen training was not a straight

path. In 1962, he spent one year alone in an abandoned

monastery in the mountains, with nothing but zazen and

begging for support. Thereafter he entered a Rinzai


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temple in Kyoto, and undertook severe training as a

complete beginner in Zen.

Finally, some 15 years ago, Hogen-San found a small

empty monastery called Chogen-ji, near Mt. Fuji. He has

lived there ever since, maintaining his daily practise of

zazen, yoga, mantra-running, chanting, and manual

labour.

Living with him in the temple are his disciples, as well as

his wife and their four children.

In recent years Hogen-san has begun to travel

extensively throughout the world in order to lead

meditation retreats (sesshins). His yearly scheduleincludes visits to England, Ireland, Norway, Holland,

France, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Australia, the United

States, and Israel.

Hogen calls himself a "crazy monk". Indeed, one's first

encounter with him is a shock. He has a youthful build,

and looks little more than half his true age. Instead of a

"Great Master", one is confronted with a truly

unassuming individual who is quick to laugh and make

jokes. And instead of a holy ascetic, there is someone

who loves lobster madras and a pint of guinness. In fact,


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in the midst of all the light-heartedness, it is easy to

forget the immense power which Hogen-san possesses.

His power has nothing to do with manipulation or

domination; in fact, he himself seems unaware of his

enormous influence. Still, it is true to say that the lives

which are touched by Hogen-san are transformed. In the

moment of his total attention, and moreover of hiscomplete and unconditional acceptance of each

individual just as he or she is, anything seems suddenly

possible.


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Cover: Details of Zen circle calligraphy by Hogen

Yamahata.

Photograph of Hogen-san, p. 135, by Jesus Martinez.

Photograph of Japanese stone Buddha, p.133, supplied

by Hogen-san.


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The Heart Sutra is chanted as part of Zen practice. It

conveys the experience of the meditational insight, theHeart of (Zen) life. It concludes with the following

mantra:

GYA TEI GYA TEI HA RA GYA TEI

HA RA SO GYA TEI BO JI SO WA KA

This means, "Gone, gone, gone to the Other Shore,

l d d t th Oth Sh "

the other shore

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